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Israel’s offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. More than two-thirds of the 20,000 Palestinians killed have been women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

On Friday, Israeli airstrikes on two homes in Gaza killed 90 Palestinians, including dozens from an extended family, according to rescuers and hospital officials. One of the homes, located in Gaza City, became one of the deadliest airstrikes in the war after 76 people from the al-Mughrabi family were killed, said Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defense department.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said a 13-year-old boy was shot and killed in an Israeli drone attack while inside al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, a part of Gaza where Israel’s military believes Hamas leaders are hiding.

An Israeli strike overnight hit a house in a refugee camp west of the city of Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt. At least two men were killed, according to Associated Press journalists in the hospital where the bodies were taken.

At least two people were killed and six others wounded when a missile stuck a building in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

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Former special counsel Jack Smith wants the recording of his full deposition to a House panel released.

His attorneys sent a letter Dec. 18 to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) requesting that his closed-door deposition be made public.

“Mr. Smith respectfully requests the prompt public release of the full videotape of his deposition. Doing so will ensure that the American people can hear the facts directly from Mr. Smith, rather than through second-hand accounts,” wrote Lanny A. Breuer and Peter Koski, Smith’s lawyers.

“We also reiterate our request for an open and public hearing. During the investigation of President Trump, Mr. Smith steadfastly followed Justice Department policies, observed all legal requirements, and took actions based on the facts and the law. He stands by his decisions,” they added.

In the deposition, Smith defended his decision to bring charges against then-former President Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power,” Smith said in prepared opening remarks, portions of which were obtained by The Hill. 

“Our investigation also developed powerful evidence that showed President Trump willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January 2021, storing them at his social club, including in a bathroom and a ballroom where events and gatherings took place.

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A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that opposed President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on visas for highly skilled foreign workers.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington ruled that Congress gave the president the authority to "impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate."

"Congress could have, but did not, impose the limit on presidential authority that plaintiffs’ urge," Howell wrote in the 56-page opinion.

The chamber, which advocates for 300,000 businesses, and the Association of American Universities, which advocates for 69 research-based institutions, argued that Trump’s administration lacked the authority to impose the fee on new H-1B visa applications, which the president imposed in September.

Trump’s fees are part of a broader strategy to favor U.S. citizens over foreign workers. The higher visa fees came amid a broader crackdown on illegal immigration, which includes mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and an end to allowing asylum seekers into the country while their cases are pending.

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Since the so-called ceasefire came into effect in Gaza on October 10, Israel has been consolidating its control of over 50% of Gaza and—according to new research by Forensic Architecture—physically altering the geography of the land. Through a combination of the construction of military infrastructure alongside the destruction of existing buildings, Israel appears to be laying the groundwork to establish a permanent presence in the majority of the Gaza Strip.

Israel has constructed at least 13 new military outposts inside Gaza since the ceasefire—primarily located along the yellow line, in eastern Khan Younis, and near the border with Israel, according to analysis of satellite imagery by Forensic Architecture.

“Israel is doing what it always does, and what it historically has done best: establish ‘facts on the ground,’ incrementally rather than spectacularly, and make them permanent once those with influence to force it to reverse course either lose interest, decide that the cost of confronting Israel is not worth the price, or come out in open support of Israeli violations. Israel is in no rush and prepared to play the long game,” Mouin Rabbani, co-editor of Jadaliyya and a former UN official who worked as a senior analyst on Israel-Palestine for the International Crisis Group, told Drop Site after reviewing a summary of the Forensic Architecture findings.

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The ceasefire in Gaza is broadly holding, despite sporadic clashes between the Israel Defense Forces and Gaza militants -- plus deadly IDF airstrikes.

Israeli forces inside the strip have pulled back to the so-called "yellow line." Israel Defense Forces chief Eyal Zamir said the position constitutes "a new border line" with Gaza.

The ceasefire is still in the first of three proposed phases. The details of the second phase of the agreement are yet to be agreed. The remains of one deceased hostage are still thought to be in Gaza.

Israeli strikes are also ongoinhttps://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-live-updates-idf-strike-kills-1/?id=128612306g against alleged Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces said it "eliminated" one alleged Hezbollah member in a strike in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

The IDF said in a post to X that it targeted two alleged Hezbollah operatives in the Yater area of southern Lebanon. The force claimed that the person killed "was involved in attempts to rehabilitate Hezbollah military infrastructure in the area."

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A Russian strike could collapse the internal radiation shelter at the defunct Chornobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine, the plant’s director has told AFP.

Kyiv has accused Russia of repeatedly targeting the facility, the site of a 1986 meltdown that is still the world’s worst ever nuclear disaster, since Moscow invaded in February 2022.

In an interview with AFP, plant director Sergiy Tarakanov said fully restoring that shelter could take three to four years, and warned that another Russian hit could see the inner shell collapse.

“If a missile or drone hits it directly, or even falls somewhere nearby, for example, an Iskander, God forbid, it will cause a mini-earthquake in the area,” Tarakanov told AFP in an interview conducted last week.

The Iskander is Russia’s short-range ballistic missile system that can carry a variety of conventional warheads, including those to destroy bunkers.

“No one can guarantee that the shelter facility will remain standing after that. That is the main threat,” he added.

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The Trump administration will resume garnishing wages from student loan borrowers in default in early 2026, the U.S. Education Department confirmed to NPR.

The move comes after a years-long pause in wage garnishment due to the pandemic.

"We expect the first notices to be sent to approximately 1,000 defaulted borrowers the week of January 7," a department spokesperson told NPR. The spokesperson said wage garnishment notices are expected to increase on a monthly basis throughout the year.

A borrower is in default when they have not made loan payments in more than 270 days. Once that happens, the federal government can try to collect on the debt by seizing tax refunds and Social Security benefits, and also by ordering an employer to withhold up to 15% of a borrower's pay. Borrowers should receive a 30-day notice from the Education Department before this wage garnishment begins.

Betsy Mayotte, the president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, says even though borrowers have expected this, the timing is unfortunate.

"It will coincide with the increase in health care costs for many of these defaulted borrowers," she said, referring to the premium increases for Affordable Care Act health insurance that kick in in 2026. "The two will almost certainly put significant economic strain on low and middle income borrowers."

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